Tessa walked out of the hotel at dawn the next morning. The stranger had given her fifty dollars and so she walked over to the stable to see about getting a horse. She needed to chase after that damn man and get her gun back or else she could forget about going after Trigger.

She walked in and the old man that ran the stable looked at her and shook his head.

"I ain't got that horse no more." he said. " A man said you stole it and he came in and took it back."

"I know." Tessa said. "He said I stole it because I did steal it." The mans eyes widened.

"You know horse thieving is a hanging offense don't you?" he asked.

"Well obviously he didn't tie a rope around my neck did he?" she asked. "Now I got fifty dollars and I want to buy a horse off of you. I know you have several in the corral behind the stable."

"Fifty dollars huh?" he asked as he rubbed his bearded chin. Tessa nodded but she could see that the old man was hoping to cheat her.

"I'm gonna warn you that I'm a fair judge of horseflesh so don't try to give me some old nag." she said. The old man nodded and led her back around to the corral. He pointed to a medium sized brown mare with a white star on it's head and blond mane and tail. The horse looked healthy enough and she nodded.

"I'll take her." she said. "I need a saddle." The old man shook his head.

"I don't know what to tell you. That horse is fifty dollars. If you want a saddle it'll cost you another ten." Tessa crossed her arms over her chest and thought. She pulled her father's pocket watch from her pants pocket and looked down at it. She knew it was worth at least what any saddle he would have would be worth. She didn't want to part with the watch but didn't see that she had much of a choice.

"Here. This ougtta cover the cost of a saddle." she said. The man took the watch and looked it over then nodded. He walked back to an empty stall and pulled out a simple leather saddle and reins. Tessa pulled the fifty dollars from her pocket and handed it to him as he handed her the saddle. She walked around to the corral, saddled the mare and slipped the reins over her head. Then she jumped on the mares back and started out of town in the same direction the stranger had taken last night.

888

Richard poured some bitter coffee into his tiny tin cup and took a long drink. Sure wasn't the best coffee he'd ever had but then again it wasn't the worst either, he reminded himself as he thought about the few times he had had the misfortune to taste Bianca's coffee.

He pulled a pouch out of the saddlebags and pulled out a piece of jerky and a stale biscuit. He was chewing on the jerky when he heard hooves pounding toward him. He pulled his gun quickly and turned to see that skinny ass boy from the night before.

"What the hell do you want?" he demanded as the boy rode closer.

"My gun." Tessa replied. Richard holstered his gun and sat back down shaking his head.

"Nice horse. Did you steal that one too?" he asked. Tessa shook her head as she jumped from the mare and walked over. Richard looked up at her and she couldn't stop the gasp that came from her.

His face was dark and tan and covered in scars. Three long scars ran down his right cheek while smaller scars were all over his left. Even his lip had a small scar across it. She saw that his eyes were bright blue and seemed very alert as he looked at her.

"What happened to you?" she asked before she could stop herself. Richard shrugged.

"Got lucky." he said. She was puzzled by his answer.

"Lucky?" she asked raising her eyebrow. He nodded.

"Sure. I'm still alive ain't I?" he asked. Richard looked up at the woman and saw her smile. He was certain this was a woman. He would have bet both his and Horses lives on it. There wasn't a single boy in the world that had big brown eyes like that, or soft full cheeks, or big pouty lips. When she smiled her whole face lit up. He shook his head to stop his mind from continuing on its current path.

This was a woman who was dressed as a man, he already knew she cussed like a man, and she had stolen everything he had and left him for dead just the other night. Clearly she was not the type of woman that he needed to be seeing as anything other than a pain in his ass.

"Can I have my gun?" she demanded.

"What's your name?" he asked. Tessa put her hands on her hips and cocked her hip to the side and he wondered if she realized just how unman like that simple motion was.

"Tom." she replied. Richard grunted and nodded as he took a bite of his biscuit. Clearly she wanted him to believe she was not a woman. Okay, he could play along with that he supposed.

"Have a seat, Tom." Richard said pointing to a rock about three feet away from him. Tessa sat down and glared at him.

"My gun." she said. He threw the pouch full of jerky and biscuits at her.

"Get ya a bite to eat." he said. Tessa wanted to refuse but her stomach was growling too loudly for her to ignore. She reached into the bag and pulled out a biscuit while Richard grabbed another tin cup from his saddlebag and poured her some coffee. He handed it to her and tried to ignore the spark he felt in his hand as her fingers brushed his.

"Thank you." Tessa said. Richard simply shrugged. She took a big swig of the coffee and instantly started coughing and sputtering.

"Watch out. That stuff's pretty strong." he said fighting back a smile. Tessa sat the cup aside and took a bite of the stale biscuit hoping it would take some of the bitterness out of her mouth. She would swear she saw a glint of mischief in his eyes but she hardly knew him enough to know for sure.

"I want my gun." she said again.

"How do I know you won't try to shoot me?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and held out her hand.

"Shake on it?" she asked. "I'll give you my word." Richard laughed loudly and shook his head.

"Your word? Damn you must think I'm five kinds of a fool or something. Boy you're the one that stole from me and now I'm supposed to take your word on something?" he asked. Tessa dropped her hand down and looked down at her feet unsure of what to say.

She wasn't proud of the fact that she had stolen from him but it had been the only choice that she had had. Of course now she was in a worse situation than she had been before because this damn tough as nails bounty hunter had her gun.

"What if I told you that I'm getting ready to hunt down a big bounty and if you give me my gun then I might just let you in on it." she asked. Richard raised his brow as he looked at her.

"You're a bounty hunter?" he asked his voice full of disbelief. Tessa nodded hoping that he wouldn't be able to tell she was lying. Of course technically she was a bounty hunter right now because the man she was after had one heck of a bounty on his head.

"Yep." she said. "The man I'm after has a five thousand dollar bounty on his head and I've just found out where he's been hiding. If you help me catch him half the bounty is yours."

"How bout I just have you tell me who it is and where he is and I'll go catch him and keep all the money?" he asked. Why the hell was this woman dressed in men's clothes and chasing outlaws? He didn't know but he sure as hell wanted to find out. He wasn't the type of man to like the idea of any woman, even a thieving little pain in the ass like her, to be in danger.

"Well that doesn't leave me any better off than I am right now does it?" she asked as she took another bite of her biscuit. Damn this man. He was trying to prove to her that he was better than she was. She watched him take a big swig of his bitter coffee and swallow it without showing any sign of disgust. Well two could play at that game. She picked her cup up as well and downed all that was left, even going so far as to crunch the grinds between her teeth before swallowing.

She felt her stomach turn over and hoped that she wouldn't turn green or throw it all back up and destroy her display of toughness. Richard shook his head but chuckled. He admired her grit. He opened his saddlebag and tossed her the revolver. She stuck it in her holster.

"Now about the rest of what I told you…" she said. He sighed.

"Who is this man?" he asked.

"Are you going to help me?" she asked. She hoped that he would. She didn't know anything about him but she could tell that he was tough and he seemed to be a fair man. After all he could have very easily killed her for stealing his horse but instead had left her unharmed and had even gone so far as to give her money. Having him on her side would definitely improve her chances when she went up against Trigger.

"Who is the man?" he asked again.

"Trigger Jones." Richard nearly choked on the jerky he was trying to swallow.

"What the hell would make a kid like you want to go after a man like Trigger Jones?" he demanded. Tessa glared at him and he saw her cheeks flush with anger.

"I'm hardly a kid! I'm a grown wo…" she stopped suddenly. He grinned.

"Yes? Continue. You were about to tell me that you are a grown woman." Tessa's mouth fell open.

"No I wasn't." she said quickly.

"So Tom, tell me. What is a grown woman doing dressed as a man, calling herself Tom and chasing after one of the most wanted men in the country?"

"I ain't a woman dammit." she said and in an effort to prove her point she spit into the small campfire. Richard shook his head. He had never seen a woman spit before. He knew one thing for sure… This was a woman but certainly not a lady.

"Ok Tom, calm down before you blow a gasket." he said swallowing the rest of his coffee. "Now why exactly are you after this man?" Tessa kicked at the dirt with her boot.

"Because having five thousand dollars sounds damn good to me!" she said matter-of-factly.

"But if I help you out you'll only get half that." he reminded her. She nodded.

"Yea well that still sounds pretty damn good to me." she said.

"Sounds good to me too." Richard admitted. Not only that but there was no way he was letting this little whip of a woman, who seemed determined to have everyone to think she was a boy, go after Trigger Jones by herself. She'd never be able to take him down without getting herself killed in the process.

Of course, if she had wanted to, she could have very easily killed Richard himself just the other night and besting Richard Helms was not something that very many people could brag about. So maybe she wasn't as helpless as she looked.

"So tell me, where is this Trigger Jones hiding out?" he asked. Tessa shook her head.

"Not so quick. First I want your word that you'll help me and not just leave me here and go after Trigger on your own." She regretted saying this almost instantly when she saw the flash of anger in his intense blue eyes as he looked at her.

"If there is one thing you can trust, Tom, it is my word. And you have my word that I won't take off and steal your bounty. I'll help ya out and split it with you if we both live through collecting it." Tessa looked at the big, rough, scarred up hand he held out and placed her much smaller smoother one in it. She wondered if he squeezed too hard on purpose as he shook her hand and then he released it quickly and went back to eating his biscuit.

"Now that that is settled." he said. "Where do we find Trigger."

"South." she replied. Richard turned and looked back behind him to the south. He looked back at her and shook his head.

"Don't see him." he said. Tessa barely stopped the laughter that she felt rise in her. She was pretty sure that he knew darn well she was a woman but until she was absolutely certain she was going to try to convince him she was a boy. One thing that would give her away for sure would be to laugh since she had not yet figured out how to do that in a manly fashion.

"About five days ride." she said. Richard nodded.

"Big state, Texas. A lot of south to it. Can you be any more specific on where he might be?" Tessa bit her lip and Richard found himself watching the way her tiny white teeth pressed against her full, pink bottom lip. He shook his head and cleared his throat. Obviously he'd been too long without a woman and had lost all control over his own thoughts.

"I was figuring on heading south and hanging around the saloons along the way. You'd be surprised what you can learn from cowboys who drink too much and talk too freely." she replied. Richard nodded. He already knew that was the truth. That was the second rule of bounty hunting. Learning how to listen and observe to find what you were looking for.

"Well I'll tell you what, Tom, since south is back toward town why don't we go and rent us a room for the night. We can stock up on food and supplies for the trip and head out at first light." he said. Tessa could barely contain her excitement. She had no doubt that with this tough man's help she would be able to avenge her father's death.

"Sounds like a plan to me." she replied. Richard nodded and without another word he stood and cleaned up his small camp. He saddled Horse and jumped on then looked at Tessa who was still sitting on the rock. She had been too caught up in watching him to get up and help. He moved with a deadly kind of grace. He was tall and obviously very strong and she found herself unable to look away from him.

"You comin? Or are you content to just sit down there on that rock?" he asked from atop Horse. Tessa stood quickly and walked over to her mare jumping on.

"I'm comin." she said.

"Alright big guy. Looks like you get to spend another night in a warm cozy stable before we hit the trail." Richard said patting Horses' neck as they started back toward town.

"You talk to your horse?" Tessa asked with disbelief. Richard grunted and looked over at her.

"Don't judge me Tom. I'm not the one lying about who I am." Tessa shook her head.

"I'm not lying. My name is Tom Bradshaw and I'm a bounty hunter chasing after Trigger Jones." She saw him roll his eyes before looking back out over the horizon.

"Whatever you say Tom." he said.

"Besides I wasn't judging you." she added. "I just ain't never heard somebody talk to their horse like it was a person before."

"Me and Horse have been through a lot together." Richard replied rubbing the stallions neck. "He's the only one I got that gives a damn about me." Tessa nodded but said nothing. She couldn't explain why, but hearing him say that made her sad. Maybe it was the way his voice had seemed so certain of what he was saying.

"Guess you really were pissed when I took him then huh?" she asked. Richard grunted and shook his head but didn't look at her.

"Hell no. Damn troublesome beast is all he is." he said. Again Tessa found herself biting back a laugh. It surprised her. She hadn't been tempted to laugh in two months since her father had been murdered but this morning it seemed like she was holding back laughs constantly.

They rode the rest of the way back to town in silence. Richard paid the old man at the stable to give Horse a stall for the day and night and then walked back out to find Tessa still sitting on her mare.

"You gonna come down sometime today?" he asked. Tessa shrugged.

"I'll just hitch her up at the hotel. I don't have any money." she said. He raised his brow.

"I gave you fifty dollars woman. Are you telling me you spent it all already?" Tessa glared at him.

"I told you I'm not a woman. And yes I spent it all. This horse cost me fifty dollars and I had to trade my daddies pocket watch just to get the saddle and reins." Richard shook his head and cursed. If the woman had paid fifty dollars for that mare then she'd paid too much.. Maybe it was worth twenty-five or thirty but certainly not fifty. It just furthered his belief that she needed his help. Anyone who would pay fifty dollars for a horse just because someone said they had too had no business running around alone chasing after someone like Trigger Jones.

"Get off the damn horse." he said. Tessa found herself obeying him instantly. She would have bet her life that not very many people refused this man when he told them to do something. He grabbed the mares reins and walked her over to the stables. Tessa saw him talking to the old man and the more Richard talked the angrier the old man seemed to become.

Finally the old man grabbed the mares reins and walked her into the big stable.

"What's he doing with my horse!" Tessa demanded as Richard walked back over to her with his saddlebags and rifle over his shoulder.

"Putting it up for the day." he said.

"But I can't pay for it." she said. Richard shook his head as they walked toward the hotel.

"The man agreed to do it for free for the night. He agreed with me that you paid too damn much for that horse and saddle and deserved a night free."

"He didn't look like he was agreeing with you about much of anything." Tessa said. She saw him smile and noticed that the lines around his eyes deepened… He was actually kind of handsome, in a rugged way, when he smiled.

"Naw, guess maybe he didn't see things exactly the way I did but the end result is the same. He's gonna take care of the mare for the night at no charge to you." Richard didn't add that he had agreed to pay for the mares keep for the night.

"Anyways I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't overpay for that mare. That's a good horse." she said. Richard snorted.

"No, Horse is a good horse and I wouldn't even pay fifty dollars for his stinking hide. That mare was worth maybe twenty-five dollars or so at the most."

"Do you like fighting or something?" Tessa demanded as they walked into the hotel. Richard looked down at her.

"Why you wanna fight me?" he asked with a grin. Tessa felt her heart beat a little faster at the sight of that grin and his bright blue eyes looking down at her. She scolded herself silently. She didn't have time to be seeing this man as anything more then a partner to help her kill Trigger. She had no time for anything more and even if she was interested in falling in love this was the last kind of man she needed.

This man clearly lived a hard life judging by the scars on his face and he was a bounty hunter. Not exactly the kind of man her father would have wanted her to think about settling down with and he did not seem like the kind of man who had any interest in settling down to begin with.

"Can I help you?" the sleepy looking hotel clerk asked from the counter.

"Change of plans. I'm staying around an extra night." Richard said pulling some money from his pocket.

"What about the boy?" the man asked. Richard wondered if maybe the clerk needed some glasses. How could anyone who saw Tom's face in the light of day possibly believe for five seconds that she was really a boy? It was blaringly obvious, to Richard at least, that she was a woman.

"My little brother is gonna room with me." Richard said. Tessa glared up at him. She knew damn well that he knew she was a woman so what exactly was he doing saying they were going to share a room.

"I am?" she asked. He didn't look at her as he nodded.

"Yep. We gotta make our money last. No point wasting it on two separate rooms." he said. "Besides, brother, we got some things to talk about." he added as he wrapped his arm around Tessa and gave her a brotherly squeeze. Tessa raised her hand to her hat to keep it from falling off as her head bumped against his hard as stone arm.

"Room twenty. Upstairs." the clerk said. Richard nodded and without another word he headed up the stairs. Tessa nearly had to run to keep up with the pace his long legs set.

Once they were in the room Richard threw the saddlebags in the corner and collapsed on his back on the bed.

"Sure beats the hell out of a rock." he said fluffing the pillow under his head. Tessa nodded and sat down in the arm chair. She had no sooner gotten comfortable and Richard was on his feet again and walking for the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Gotta buy some grub to take with us and I could use some new clothes." he said stopping with hand on the door knob and looking back at her.

"You coming?" Tessa shook her head. She would take advantage of him being gone and enjoy one final hot bath before they hit the trail.

"You need anything while I'm out?" he asked. She shook her head again.

"No, I ain't got no money anyway." she said. Richard nodded.

"Suit yourself." he said and walked out. Tessa gave him several minutes to make sure he was gone before she walked downstairs and asked for some hot water to be carried up to their room.

She sighed happily as she laid down in the tub. She dreaded the thought of being on the trail and unable to have a warm bath. Finally her luck was changing. She had her first real lead on where to find Trigger Jones and she had a partner to help her take him down.

Tessa wished she could enjoy her bath longer but knew that Richard could come back at any moment. She dressed and was just finishing hiding all her long red hair beneath her hat when the door opened and Richard walked in.

"Took a bath huh?" he asked. An image flashed through his mind of what this woman would look like out of those ridiculous clothes. There wasn't much to her chest he could tell but the image he came up with was still pretty damn tempting. He wondered what her hair looked like beneath that hat…

"Yea." she said snapping him out of his thoughts. "Did you get everything you needed?" she asked pointed at the packages in his hands. He nodded and threw one of them to her.

"Your pants were looking a little wore out so I got ya some new ones and I got ya a bandana too. The land we'll be heading for gets pretty dusty and it's handy to have one to cover your face with."

"Thank you." she said. He nodded and then to her horror he pulled off his vest and shirt. Tessa felt her mouth go dry at the sight of his naked torso. She had never seen a half naked man before other than her father and he had been old and pale… Nothing like what this man looked like. He was hard and strong and tan. Scars and dark hair covered his muscular chest and stomach.

He turned and walked toward the tub as he undid his gun belt and tossed it aside. Tessa stared at his back and her eyes widened… Were those whip marks? Richard started to undo his pants.

"What are you doing?" Tessa demanded. Richard smiled though she couldn't see it because his back was still to her.

"Takin a bath." he replied. Tessa ran for the door.

"I'm gonna go get a bite to eat." she said. Richard nodded to his vest in the floor.

"You'll need money." he said. Tessa grabbed a couple dollars and then ran out the door. She could hear his laughter as she shut the door behind her.